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REPLY 



JOH 



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-OF- 



n H. Mitchell 



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— TO — 






The Speech of Honorable Joseph Simon, United States Senator, 
made in the Senate of the United States, March 6, 1900, 
in which he, referring to the legislative holdup in 
Oregon in 1897 asserted that "the failure of the House 
to organize is attributable to Hr. Hitchell and to him 
alone," and further that "whatever demoralization 
there was of the legislature was caused by Hr. flitchell 
and not Mr. Corbett." 



Portland, Oregon, March 12, 1900. 

I notice my successor in the United States Senate, Hon. 
Joseph Simon, has made his maiden speech . The Congressional 
Record, in which it is printed, arrived in this city today, and I 
have just concluded its reading. 

But for the fact that in that speech, instead of discussing any 
one or more of the many important subjects now pending in the 
United States Senate, and in which this State and Coast 
and the Nation are vitally interested, the Senator has 
signalized the inauguration of his national career of 
statesmanship by an unwarranted, unsupported and 
absolutely false, if not, indeed, malicious, personal at- 

1 



H 



SSI 

tack on me, charging me with what he knew to be absolutely 
false, it would be quite out of place for me, his predecessor in 
office, and would be an exhibition of all lack of sense of the pro- 
prieties on my part, to offer even the mildest criticism. And but 
for this personal attack I certainly should have maintained my 
peace, except, perhaps in the interest of our state, to have aided 
in upholding and strengthening the hands of our Senator, in any 
proper effort he might have made in the interest of our state, or 
even in the interest of harmony in the Republican party. But 
I am not aware of any rule of either social, moral or political 
ethics which requires me to remain passive and to submit tamely 
without protest to- a charge against me, and my former political 
friends and supporters, that is not only false, but which its author 
knew to be absolutely false, although such author is a United 
States Senator, and such charge is made in the United States 
Senate. 

In that speech, Senator Simon, in referring to the legislative 
hold-up in Oregon in 1897, says: 

"I was a member of that legislature, and I believe I am 
familiar with the circumstances and causes that led up to the 
failure of the House of Representatives to organize, and the 
failure of the legislature to elect a Senator. I desire to say now, 
without qualification, that Mr. Corbett was in no way responsible 
for either the failure of the House to organize, or the failure of the 
legislature to elect a Senator " 

Senator Simon, proceeding further, said: "In connection 
with this statement I wish to add that Mr. Corbett was not a can- 
didate for election to the Senate ' nor had he any inclination in that 
direction ; nor had he any desire to prevent the organization of the 
House." 

Proceeding further with his speech, Senator Simon, said: 
" I wish to deny again emphatically that Mr. Corbett was a candidate 
for the Senate. During the legislature of 1897 he had no idea of 
beco?ning a candidate for the Senate. He had no desire to be a can- 
didate. I speak from personal knowledge of the mattery 



Again proceeding with his speech, Senator Simon said; 
" The failure of the House to organize is attributable to Mr. Mitchell 
and to him alone.' 1 '' 

Again, further on in his speech, in referring to the letter of 
March ioth, 1897, addressed to the Chairman of the Committee 
on Privileges and Elections of the United States Senate, by Hon. 
George C. Brownell, Senator Simon, after first designating the 
letter as my letter, saying / wrote it, says : 

' 'Mr. Mitchell is not truthful in his letter. * * * It 
appears from the letter that a Republican caucus was held at 
which there were present more than a majority of the Republican 
members of the legislature. I beg to disagree with that statement ; it 
is not consistent with the facts. " 

Stick a pin here: There were, all told, sixty-four Republicans 
in that legislature; there were actually present in that Republican 
caucus forty-four of these sixty -four, every one of whom voted for 
myself as the candidate for U. S. Senator, while two others who 
were absent, Senator Tolbert Carter, of Benton County, and Sen- 
ator B. F. Mulkey, of Polk County, one by letter and the other by 
telegram, approved the action of the caucus. Senator Carter's 
letter, written on the day preceding the evening of the caucus, 
was as follows: 

''Salem, Oregon, Jan. 14th, 1897. 

"To the Chairman and Members of the Republican Caucus to 
be held by the Republican Members of the present ses- 
sion of the Oregon Legislature for the purpose of nominat- 
ing a Candidate for the United States Senate: 

"Gentlemen: I regret to state that I have been called home 
and will be unable to be present at the caucus to be held this 
evening. I wish to say, however, that if present I should vote for 
Senator J. H. Mitchell; but if the caucus shall nominate some 
other gentleman I will support him, it being my intention, I 
assure you, to abide by the will of the majority and to support 
the nominee of your caucus. 

"Very respectfully yours, 

"TOLBERT CARTER." 



While Senator Mulkey's telegram from his home in Polk County 
was as follows: 

"Dallas, Oregon, Jan. 14, 1897. 

"Hon. J. H. Mitchell, 

"Willamette Hotel, Salem, Oregon, 

"I have just arrived in response to a telegram announcing 
the sickness of my little daughter; find her very ill. Whatever 
caucus decides tonight I will abide by. 

"B. F. MULKEY." 

Senator Simon, further on in his speech, makes the following 
remarkable statement: 

"The caucus call contained the names of several members 
who publicly declared that they did not sign the call, and did not 
intend to be bound by it, and their names were upon the call 
without their consent. " 

This is the first time I have ever heard of such a charge, and 
I dare say no man in Oregon ever heard of it before; and if Sen- 
ator Simon will designate any one or more of the forty-eight Re- 
publican members of the legislature whose names are to that 
call, who will come forward and say that he or they did not sign 
the same, I venture to assert the proof of the falsity of such a 
claim will be overwhelming. One of the forty-eight, Repre- 
sentative Riddle, of Douglas County, after signing the call, did, 
just before the meeting of the caucus, ask that his name be with- 
drawn, which was done. 

Now, mark you, how plain a statement of facts will exhibit 
this Senatorial prevaricator in his true light. 

The legislature of the State of Oregon convened January 
12th, 1897, and on January 14th, at the Republican caucus duly 
called by a writing signed by forty-eight Republicans — two more 
than a majority of the whole legislature, the legislature being 
composed of ninety members in all — I was, by an open, viva voce 
vote, duly and unanimously nominated as the candidate of the 
Republican party for United States Senator. And although ex- 

4 



actly three-fourths of all the Republican members of that legis- 
lature joined in the writing calling for such caucus, and four more 
than two-thirds of all the Republican members of that legislature 
actually participated therein, forty-four of them being actually 
present and voting in the caucus, every one of whom voted for 
me in an open, viva voce ballot — two others, Senator Tolbert 
Carter and Senator B. F. Mulkey, giving their approval to the 
action of the caucus, one by letter and the other by telegram, as 
hereinbefore stated — Senator Simon, then a State Senator from 
Multnomah County, and President of the Senate, refused to join 
in such call and refused to enter such caucus, and exercised his 
whole power, both as Senator and as President of the Senate, to 
prevent other Republicans, a minority of one-fourth of all the 
Republican members from entering such caucus, and to induce 
them to follow him in his bolting and revolutionary movement 
against party organization, the sole purpose being to defeat 
the party nominee for United States Senator. 

But not only so, Senator Simon, being fully aware of the fact 
that the only way in which the nominee of the party could be 
beaten, was by preventing an organizatoin of the legislature, 
either advised his colleagues and political supporters, members 
of the House from Multnomah County and elsewhere, to refuse 
to take the oath of office, or, if he did not originally advise it, he 
openly approved their course; namely, that of J. C. Bayer, James 
N. Davis, George H. Hill, A. L. Maxwell and D. L. Povey, of 
Multnomah County, in refusing to take the oath of office as 
members of the legislature, which they did, as did also five others 
elected as Republicans, Jonathan Bourne, of Multnomah, Davis 
of Umatilla, Jones of Wasco, Craig of Marion, and Riddle of 
Douglas, together with eighteen elected as Populists, during the 
whole session: This, for the sole purpose of holding up the 
legislature, preventing its organization, and thus preventing a 
vote for United States Senator. 

It is a notorious fact, moreover, that all of my political 
friends and supporters in the legislature, including myself, urged 
from day to day that the ten elected as Republicans, and the 

5 



eighteen elected as Populists, should take the oath of office and 
organize the legislature. But these twenty-eig'ht members, five 
of them elected from Multnomah County as the earnest, personal 
and political supporters of Senator Simon, refused, during the 
entire session of the legislature to take the oath of office or their 
seats in the legislature. This action of these twenty-eight mem- 
bers of the legislature in refusing, the entire session to take the 
oath of office, received the earnest approval, during the entire 
session, of both Senator Simon and H. W. Corbett. This is a fact 
so notorious, so well understood and almost universally believed 
by the people of the State of Oregon, that it is amazing that any 
man should have the hardihood to rise in his place in the United 
States Senate and assert the contrary. 

In this connection it may be stated as a fact not susceptible 
of contradiction, that Jonathan Bourne, elected as a Representative 
on the Republican ticket in Multnomah County in June, 1896, 
and who left the Republican party and actively supported Bryan 
for the Presidency in November, 1896, became ostensibly a can- 
didate for Speaker of the House of Representatives in a Republi- 
can legislature. To this end he organized and placed himself at 
the head of the Populists and one or two of the Democratic mem- 
bers of the legislature. That Senator Simon entered into a com- 
bination with Bourne and his Populist friends, members of the 
legislature, and openly demanded his (Bourne's) election as 
Speaker by a legislature having a large Republican majority. 
The sole purpose, however, of the combination being the defeat 
of the regular Republican nominee for Senator, which they ac- 
complished, by the only means it could be accomplished, by hold- 
ing up the legislature and preventing its organization. That this 
unholy alliance of conflicting interests was organized and held to- 
gether by the use of an unlimited amount of money, furnished 
mostly by H. W. Corbett, is a charge that was publicly made at 
the time, and frequently since, in many of the newspapers of the 
state, and was then, and is now, generally believed by the great 
majority of the people of the State, and is a matter of history 
which cannot be blotted out by any amount of denials at this late 
day. 

6 



On February 18th, 1897, after repeated efforts on the part of 
myself and friends to induce these recalcitrants to organize the 
legislature, I addressed a letter to the Republican caucus, which 
truthfully recited the history of the session to that date, of which 
the following is a copy: 

"Salem, Oregon, Feb'y 18, 1897. 

"Hon. Samnel Hughes, 

"Chairman Republican Conference, Salem, Oregon, 

"My Dear Sir: 

"On and prior to Tuesday, January 14, 1897, forty-eight of 
the Republican members of the legislature, being two more than 
a majority of all members entitled to seats in the two Houses, 
signed a call for a Republican senatorial caucus to meet in the 
Hall of the House of Representatives, in this city, on Thursday, 
January 14, at 7:00 o'clock p. m. The following is an exact copy 
of such call : 

" 'We, the undersigned, Republicans and Republican mem- 
bers of the Legislature of the State of Oregon, believing, as we 
do, in maintaining and perpetuating the organization of the Re- 
publican party, and also its principles, as ennunciated in its plat- 
form as adopted at the late Republican convention at St. Louis, 
and believing, furthermore, that in the selection of a candidate 
for United States Senator such organization and its principles 
will be best promoted by adhering to the will of the majority, as 
openly and fairly expressed in party caucus, do hereby agree, a 
sufficient number to elect consenting thereto, that we will meet 
in party caucus on Thursday, the 14th day of January, 1897, in 
the Hall of the House of Representatives, in Salem, Oregon, at 
7:00 o'clock, p. m., and after organization by the selection of a 
presiding officer and two secretaries, will, by a viva voce vote, 
as our names are called, express our preference for a candidate 
for United States Senator; and we hereby agree to support for 
United States Senator by our vote in the legislature the person 
who shall at such caucus receive a majority of all the votes cast 
therein. 



Benson, 


Bridges, 


Brownell, 


Brown, 


Calbreath, 


Carter, 


Chapman, 


Conn, 


Craig, 


Crawford, 


David, 


Dawson, 


Riddle, 


Gesner, 


Gowan, 


Gurdane, 


Driver, 


Haseltine, 


Hobson, 


Hogue, 


Harmon, 


Hudson, 


Hughes, 


Jennings, 


Hope, 


Lake, 


Langell, 


Marsh, 


Johnson, 


Merrill, 


Mitchell, 


Mulkey,, 


McClung, 


Palm, 


Patterson, I. 


L., Price, 


Nosier, 


Rigby, 


Smith, J. N., 


Somers, 


Reed, 


Taylor, 


Thomas, 


Thompson, 


Stanley, 


Vaughn, 


Veness, 


Wagner/ 



"In pursuance of this call I was at the time and place named 
therein, as I was officially advised the same evening, unanimously 
nominated by an open, viva voce vote, each member responding 
to the call of the roll, as your candidate and candidate of the 
Republican party for United States Senator for the term com- 
mencing March 4, 1897. At such caucus all of the forty-eight 
members signing the call, as above, were present, excepting 
four as follows: Senator Mulkey, of Polk County; Senator Ges- 
ner, of Marion County; Senator Carter, of Benton County, and 
Representative Riddle, of Douglas County. Senator Carter, 
however, being unable to be present, sent to the chairman of the 
caucus a letter which was read in the caucus before the bal- 
lot was taken, and of which the following is a copy: 



' 'Salem, Oregon, January 14, 1897. 

** 'To the chairman and members of the Republican caucus to be 
held by the Republican members of the present session of 
the Oregon legislature, for the purpose of nominating a 
candidate for the United States Senate. 

" 'Gentlemen: I regret to state that I have been called home, 
and will be unable to be present at the caucus to be held this 
evening. I wish to say, however, that if present I should vote 
for Senator J. H. Mitchell, but if the caucus shall nominate some 

8 



other gentleman I will support him, it being my intention, I 
assure you, to abide by the will of the majority, and to sup- 
port the nominee of your caucus. 

" 'Very respectfully yours, 

" TOLBERT CARTER.' 

"Senator Gesner sent verbal word by Senator Patterson, of 
Marion, as I have been advised, that he was detained by serious 
illness of a member of his family, but he would abide by the 
decision of the caucus. Senator Mulkey, being suddenly called 
away to his home at Dallas by the serious illness of his little 
girl, sent me a telegram on his arrival in Dallas on the evening of 
the caucus, of which the following is a copy: 

" 'Dallas, Oregon, Jan. 14th, 1897. 

" 'Hon. John H. Mitchell, 

"'Willamette Hotel, Salem, Oregon: 

" T have just arrived in response to a telegram announcing 
the sickness of my little daughter. Find her very ill. What- 
ever caucus desides on tonight I will abide by. 

" 'B. F. MULKEY.' 

"Representative Riddle, of Douglas County, who had signed 
the caucus call, did not attend, and for reasons unknown to me, 
but it must be presumed entirely satisfactory to himself, sent 
me about 6 o'clock of the evening of the caucus a letter, of 
which the following is a copy: 

" 'Salem, Oregon, Jan. 14th, 1897. 

" 'Hon. John H. Mitchell, 
" 'Salem, Oregon. 
"'Dear Sir: I am in receipt of a notice that a caucus will 
be held in the Hall of the House of Rrepresentatives on this, 
Thursday evening, Jan. 14, 1897, at 7 o'clock P. M., for the 
purpose of selecting a candidate for United States Senator, the 
said caucus to be held in pursuance of a call heretofore signed 
by me. I take this opportunity of writing to you to request 

9 



you or those in charge of said call to erase my name therefrom, 
and to inform you that I will not be present at said caucus, and 
will not be controlled thereby. 

'" 'Respectfully, 

" 'GEO. W. RIDDLE.' 



"This letter I immediately transmitted to the caucus through 
Representative Hudson, of Washington County. Thus it will be 
seen there were present at the caucus in person, or by repre- 
sentation, not only a majority of all the republican member s^ but 
a majority of all the members of the legislature, and I not only 
received the unanimous nomination, but there was no other 
candidate named or suggested. 

"Of the fourteen Republicans entitled to seats in the legis- 
lature, and all of whom declined to go into the caucus and who 
have refused not only to support the caucus nominee, but all of 
whom have absolutely refused to go into the joint assembly for 
the purpose of electing a Senator, the following have qualified 
and taken their seats, namely: Senators Simon, Bates, Mackay 
and Selling, of Multnomah County; Senator Patterson, of Wash- 
ington County; Senator Michell, of Wasco County; Representa- 
tive Huntington, of Wasco County; in all, seven. The remain- 
ing nine Republicans, namely, Representatives Bayer, Davis, Hill, 
Maxwell, Povey, of Multnomah County, and Representative 
Jones, of Wasco County; Davis, of Umatilla County; Craig, of 
Marion, and Riddle, of Douglas, have up to the present time 
failed and refused to qualify as members, and have failed and re- 
fused up to this date to< take their seats either in the House 
of Representatives or in the Joint Assembly. The Republican 
Senators above named who did not sign the call for caucus, nor 
participate therein, have also so far declined to go into the 
Joint Assembly .for the purpose of electing a United States 
Senator. All of the representatives of the Populist party and 
all of the representatives of the bimetallic party have also, as 
I am advised, failed and refused to qualify and have failed and 

10 



refused to take their seats in the House or in the Joint Assembly. 
A combination therefore exists between this small minority of 
Republicans, who refused to be governed by the will of the ma- 
jority, and nine of whom have failed and refused to qualify, and 
the representatives of the Populist party, and the bimetallic party, 
all of whom have refused to qualify, the avowed purpose, as I 
understand, being, first, the election of Jonathan Bourne, a Pop- 
ulist, as speaker of the House, and, secondly, the defeat of your 
nominee for Senator. 

"The history of politics since the beginning of the govern- 
ment fails to furnish a parallel in any state to the situation thus 
presented. The spectacle presented is that of a minority realiz- 
ing their lack of power to dictate and control in the selection 
of a Speaker of the House of Representatives, and in the choos- 
ing of a United States Senator, deliberately refusing to qualify 
and take their seats in the House, thereby intending to prevent 
the presence of a quorum, and absolutely blocking the election 
of both Speaker and Senator, and legislation as well. Such a 
proceeding, whatever may be the motive of those promoting it, 
tends strongly and inevitably towards anarchy. It is a most 
dangerous menace, not only to the integrity of the organization of 
the Republican party, but to the very existence of our govern- 
ment, both State and National. It is a proceeding that should 
receive the unqualified condemnation of every law abiding citi- 
zen of all political parties. Those who give it their countenance 
or support, either directly or inferentially, of whatever party 
affiliation, deserve to be classed with the enemies of law and 
order. To permit it to be established as a precedent would be to 
set in motion an element of discord and disintegration that will 
eventually sap the very foundation of our political institutions. 

"In view, however, of the present status of the United States 
Senate, and as it will be after the fourth of March next, it is of 
the utmost importance that Oregon should at this time elect a 
Senator. This fact must be appreciated by every true Repub- 
lican. 

11 



"The Republican party is infinitely greater than anyoneman. 
Its interests are paramount to those of any one individual. It 
is your duty to elect a Republican Senator if in your power; and 
while, as your nominee, I personally am ready and willing, as 
you all know, to stand by you and with you for the integrity of 
party organization, and the maintenance and perpetuity of the 
rule of the majority, still I desire to say to you now, in this public 
manner, that while I believe that the minority should not be 
permitted to dictate to the majority, and that there is now a 
principle involved in this contest which is infinitely greater than 
the interests of any one individual, yet as I have repeatedly stated 
to each of you individually during the last thirty days, I do not 
claim to control your judgment or assume any right to direct 
your forces. Therefore, whenever you can see your way clear 
to choose a Republican Senator other than myself, then you 
must not for one moment permit the fact of my nomination or 
of my candidacy to stand in the way. In other words, I am in your 
hands. You have made me your nominee, do with me as you 
please and I will be content. Do your whole duty to the Re- 
publican party, the State of Oregon and the Nation. You 
know full well the character of the combination against you and 
the influences through which it found its origin and by which it 
has been maintained. Exercise your best judgment, keeping 
steadily in view the best interests, not only of the Republican 
party, but of the State and Nation. 

"Thanking you and each of you most cordially for the unfal- 
tering support you have given me, I am, with great respect, your 
obedient servant, 

JOHN H. MITCHELL." 



Four days later, on February 22nd, the twenty-eight mem- 
bers still refusing to take the oath of office or their seats in the 
legislature, and still being earnestly supported in their course by 
Senator Simon, and forty days, the usual length of the session, 
having expired, I addressed a second open letter to the caucus, 
of which the following is a copy: 

12 



"Salem, Oregon, Feb. 22, 1897. 
"Hon. Samuel Hughes, 

Chairman Republican Conference, 
Salem, Oregon. 

"My Dear Sir: I understand there is a strong disposition 
upon the part of the majority of the Republicans to adjourn the 
legislature sine die without further effort to secure the election of 
a Senator. This would leave the state only partly represented 
in the Senate of the United States, the effect of which, in all 
probability, would be to place the control of the Senate in the 
hands of those opposed to the Republican party, in which event, 
the defeat of tariff legislation at the coming extraordinary ses- 
sion of Congress would be assured. It seems to me, therefore, 
there is a paramount duty resting upon you to make one more 
determined effort before final adjournment to secure the election 
of a Senator. There are many prominent Republicans located 
in different sections of the state eminently qualified for the posi- 
tion, men who would do credit to the party, the state and na- 
tion. I will co-operate with you and all other Republicans in the 
legislature in endeavoring to bring about the election of such 
Republican as the Republican conference, to whom this let- 
ter is addressed, will agree upon. 

"Yours very sincerely, 

i "JOHN H. MITCHELL." 

Now, I submit, the man who in the face of this public record 
of facts, has the effrontery to rise in his place in the United 
States Senate, and deliberately assert that, "The failure of the 
House to organize is attributable to Mr. Mitchell and to him 
alone," must be wholly incapable of distinguishing between the 
character of the untruthful political chatter of an irresponsible 
pot-house politician, in some disreputable hovel of an equally dis- 
reputable ward, and the high-minded, truthful and dignified 
utterances always expected upon any and every subject upon 
the part of a member of the United States Senate. 

As further conclusive proof that Senator Simon himself was 
the head and front and leading moving spirit in the legislative 

13 



hold-up of 1897, I make the direct, positive charge that he, 
through his friends, made an effort to get my supporters in 
the legislature to sign their names to a writing, of which 
the following is a copy, the condition of such signing being 
that Simon and his friends would come in and organize the 
legislature. This original writing, the first two lines of which 
were partially erased, was as follows : 

"It is agreed between the undersigned members of the 
legislature now in session, that" — (The foregoing lines were 
partiallly erased). 

"In order to secure a proper and permanent organization of 
both branches of the legislature, and to obtain for the people 
of the state the remedial legislation imperatively demanded, it 
is agreed between the undersigned members of the 19th Biennial 
Session of the Legislature, that no Senator in Congress shall be 
elected during the present session, and that we will so transact the 
businsss so coming before the Legislature that the same may, and we 
agree that the Legislature shall adjourn prior to any vote being taken 
for United States Senator; that we will not further participate in the 
Joint Assembly, aiid in the event that the legislature now in session 
shall by any means be compelled to take one or more votes for Senator 
we hereby agree to so distribute our votes that no person shall receive a 
number sufficient to elect him. 

"To the faithful performance of this agreement in the letter 
and spirit we hereby pledge ourselves and each one of us subscribing 
our names hereto" 

The foregoing paper was written with a pen (not in type), by 
Miss Jessie E. Samuels, who was Senator Simon's confidential 
clerk at that session of the legislature, and was written, of 
course, presumably by her at Senator Simon's dictation. This 
writing was submitted quietly to a few of my supporters by a 
personal and political friend and supporter of Senator Simon, and 
at his (Simon's) request, with a view of ascertaining if a suf- 
ficient number of their signatures could be obtained The writ- 
ing subsequently came into the hands of Senator A. W. Reed, 

14 



of Douglas County, and was by him publicly read in the Repub- 
lican caucus, at which time Senator Reed declared Senator Simon 
was its author, and then and there publicly denounced him as 
being the leader in the legislative hold-up. / have in my posses- 
sion this original paper in the handwriting of Miss Samuels, the then 
confidential clerk of Senator Simon, and will submit it at any time for 
inspection to anyone desiring to see it. Miss Samuels is now a clerk in 
the office of the County Assessor of Multnomah County, and hundreds of 
persons in this county are familiar with her handwriting. 

In addition to the fact that the foregoing revolutionary pro- 
posal to hold up the legislature, and prevent the election of a 
United States Senator — in direct violation of the oath of every 
member of that legislature who had sworn to support the Con- 
sitution of the United States, and which Constitution made it 
one of the highet duties of the Legislature to elect a Senator — is 
in the handwriting of Senator Simon's confidential clerk, the 
paper itself, its phraseology and general literary make-up as 
will be found by comparing it carefully with Senator Simon's 
speech in the Senate — bears the unmistakable ear-marks of 
Senator Simon. I, therefore, charge upon Senator Simon, upon 
the proof herewith submitted, that he, Senator Simon, dictated 
that letter; that it was and is Simon's letter, deliberately pre- 
pared by him, with the purpose and intent of using it as a 
means, not only of defeating the election of the nominee of the 
Republican party for United States Senator, but also in order 
to accomplish that end to so direct the business of the Legis- 
lature, so as to prevent a vote being taken for the election of a 
Senator during the entire session, and I shall expect more than 
Senator Simon's simple denial to overcome the evidence I here- 
with submit in support of the charge. 

Senator Simon poses in the Senate as a simon-pure, gold 
standard man, and prattles in his maiden effort about my posi- 
tion on the money question. I make the direct and positive 
charge that during the session of the Oregon Legislature of 
1895, Senator Simon, while professing to be earnestly supporting 
Senator Dolph for re-election, was secretly aiding in encompass- 

15 



ing his defeat in the hope of securing his own election at that 
time, precisely as he was falsely professing to aid Mr. Corbett's 
candidacy in 1898 while secretly working to bring about his own 
election. And I make, moreover, the further positive charge that 
at the time, and afterwards, it was publicly charged, and I be- 
lieve generally believed, that during that session Senator Simon, 
in order to secure the votes of Democrats and Populists in the 
Legislature, signed his name to a writing i7i which he agreed in the 
event of his election, that he would vote in the United States Senate for 
the free and unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1 . 

In this connection, and before proceeding to answer Senator 
Simon's positive assertions that "Mr. Corbett was not a candidate 
for the Senate in 1897; that he had no desire to be a candidate', 
that he had no idea of being a candidate', nor had he any inclina- 
tion in that direction" and further that he (Simon) spoke 'from 
personal knowledge of the matter ," it might not be out of place 
to refer to the fact that on the receipt here of the press dis- 
patches reporting Senator Simon's speech, Mr. Corbett rushes a 
telegram to Senator Simon, dated March 7, 1900, and gives the 
same to the Portland Press for publication, in which he endorses 
Simon's speech on the legislative hold-up in these words: " Your 
clear and unbiased statement in connection with the legislative 
hold-up, which failed to elect a Senator, and to which vacancy 
I (Corbett) was appoi?ited by the Governor of the State," 
and in which he seeks to sustain Simon — not, it is true, by 
any evidence as to the facts in connection with that hold-up, not 
that a certain letter or report of that hold-up made by Hon. 
George C. Brownell in his letter of date March 10, 1897, to the 
Committee on Privileges and Elections of the United States 
Senate, was in any respect erroneous in its recital of facts, but 
simply that said letter or report was written, as he alleges, not by 
Brownell, but by me. It must be assumed, therefore, that Mr. 
Corbett in this telegram wishes to be understood by all con- 
cerned, especially by the United States Senate, as he requested 
Senator Simon to read the same to the Senate , that he endorses 
as true the statement made by Senator Simon in his speech that 

16 



he (Corbett) was not a candidate for the Senate in i8gy; that he 
''had no desire to be a candidate;" that he had "no idea of being 
a candidate, nor had he any inclination in that direction; and 
further, that he endorses as an entirety Senator Simon's state- 
ment in regard to that hold-up, including his direct, positive and 
unqualified asssertion that ' 'the failure of the House to organize is 
attributable to Mr. Mitchell and to him alone ." 

Hence, it is that my own self-respect, my regard for truth, my 
fealty to former friends and political associates and supporters, 
justify me in referring to Mr. Corbett in this connection, and 
in answering him, as the sponsor of Senator Simon, and as the 
endorser of his charges, at the same time I ansv/er the Senator 
himself. And as will be seen in what follows, I shall prove con- 
clusively by Mr. Corbett himself, by his own handwriting, by his 
letters over his own signature, the absolute falsity of at least 
one of the charges made, namely, that Corbett was not a can- 
didate for the Senate in 1897. 

Before passing to this, however, one word as to the Brown- 
ell letter. I did not write that letter. I did furnish Mr. 
Brownell some of the data for the same, including copies of the 
two letters of dates February 18th and 22nd, 1897, addressed 
by me to the Republican caucus, both of which were incorporated 
in and made a part of the Brownell letter. But, suppose for 
the sake of argument, I did, or someone else other than Senator 
Brownell, did write every word of the Brownell letter. The 
question of importance is — not who penned the letter — but does 
it, or does it not state facts? The only specific denial by Sen- 
ator Simon in his reference to this letter in his speech in the 
Senate, of any statement of fact contained in it, is the following, 
taken from his speech. He says the letter contains my "ear- 
marks" and he calls it "Mitchell's letter," and then says: 

"Mr. Mitchell is not truthful in his letter. * * * It ap- 
pears from the letter that a Republican caucus was held at which 
there were present more than a majority of the Republican members 
of the legislature. I beg to disagree with that statement ; it is not con- 
sistent with the facts ." 

17 



Now, in this statement, as I have already shown from the 
record, Senator Simon has uttered as great an untruth as ever 
found its way into print since the days of Ananias. 

It will be further borne in mind that Mr. Corbett, in his 
telegram to Senator Simon approving his (Simon's) speech, does 
not pretend to deny the facts recited in the Brownell letter. He 
simply would have the people believe that I, and not Brownell, 
wrote the letter which Brownell signed. 

Now, replying to Senator Simon's assertion that, "In con- 
nection with this statement, I wish to add that Mr. Corbett was 
not a candidate for election to the Sevate ; nor had he any in- 
clination in that direction" and the following repetition of the 
same statement later on in his speech: "/ wish to deny again 
emphatically that Mr. Corbett was a candidate for the Senate. 
During the legislature of 1897 he had no idea of being a candi- 
date. I speak from personal knowledge of the matter.'''' I 
assert without fear of successful contradiction from any 
source whatever, that on January 9th, 1897, three days before 
the legislature of 1897 convened, Hon. H. W. Corbett wrote a 
letter to Rev. I. D. Driver, D. D., then State Senator from Lane 
County, in which, after referring to his candidacy for the United 
States Senate, he used the following language: 

"/ have thought who would be a proper person to present 
my name. There is no one that I would choose but yourself 
(meaning Senator Driver). This would be an honor that I should 
highly appreciate if you would consent to do so. With you as my 
champion, whether I succeed or fail, I should always feel proud 
of my old friend, (old friend underscored), as my chosen advo- 
cate, sink or swim. I know I could always trust my captain, as 
I know he never deserts his ship. Please see my friend \ Donald 
Mackay (meaning State Senator Donald Mackay, of Multnomah 
County, Senator Simon's colleague and chief supporter) and act 
with him, and oblige your old and best friend." 

But not only so, Hon. H. W. Corbett, commencing with a 
letter dated July 6th, 1896, only a month after the June election 
of 1896, at which Doctor Driver was elected a State Senator 

18 



from Lane County, and ending with one written January 27th, 
1897, all over his own signature, and all in his own hadwriting, 
(no type), and all addressed to Senator I, D. Driver, wrote in all 
ten different letters, bearing dates, respectively, as follows: July 
6th, 1896; December nth, 1896, and January 1st, 7th, 9th, 12th, 
13th, 14th, 23d and 27th, 1897, in all of which he earnestly 
urged the defeat of the caucus nominee for Senator, in one of 
which he earnestly advised, if necessary to defeat Mitchell, that 
there should be no organization of the Legislature, and in all of 
which his own candidacy was most clearly apparent. 

In his letter of December nth, 1896, Mr. Corbett, in re- 
ferring to the approaching Senatorial election, says: 

"Be non-cofnmittal for a time, and we will see which way the 
cat jumps, is the advice of your old and faithful friend." 

In his letter of January 23rd, 1897, he appeals to Senator 
Driver in these words to not vote to recognize the House, as 
then organized: 

"/ trust you will not vote to recognize the House as at present 
organized. This favor I can ask as an old friend, and which I trust 
you will be able to grant.'" 

While the following is a verbatim copy of the letter of date 
January 7th, 1897: 

"Confidential and please bum. 

"Portland, Jan. 7, 1897. 
"Rev. I. D. Driver, 

"My Dear Friend: il I sent you a New Year's present en- 
closed in a letter. I trust you redd it all safely, but have redd 
no acknowledgment yet. I trust it did not go astray. It has 
come to my knowledge that Mr. Mitchell's friends would try 
and make you feel under some obligation for the $115 they 
gave you towards your expenses of the canvass. This money 
belonged to the Nat'l Committee, not to them. Mr. George 
Steel went on East and procured the money for expenses in 
Oregon. I and others paid Mr. Steel's expenses East to get 
this money, which he paid Mr. Hirsch in cash for the payment 

19 



of speakers. I will send you the $115, which you can hand back to 
Mr. Hirsch) if you like, then I presume you might feel more indepen- 
dent. Let me know if you would like to do this. 

"As ever your old friend, 

"H. W. CORBETT." 

It must be borne in mind that Mr. Corbett and Rev. I. D. 
Driver had for more than a generation been warm personal 
friends, and, although when Mr. Corbett appealed to Senator 
Driver to violate his pledge to his constituents that if elected 
he would support me for the Senate, and tendered various rea- 
sons why he should do so, Senator Driver, although justly indig- 
nant that any friend should thus seek to induce him to violate 
his pledge, and act in bad faith, wrote to Senator Corbett in 
stern rebuke of his attempt, but he did not at that time entirely 
sever his friendly relations. But when again on January 23rd, 
1897, Mr. Corbett again returned to the attack on Senator Driv- 
er's integrity, by writing him a letter containing the above quota- 
tion, it became with Mr. Driver the "camel's hair," and he at 
once broke off all communication with his former friend. And 
notwithstanding all these persistent appeals from H. W. Corbett, 
styling himself in his letters as Senator Driver's u old and best 
friend" and which appeals were intermingled with most sig- 
nificant intimations of monetary aid, that grand old man, Sen- 
ator Driver, true to his pledge to his constituents who elected 
him, and true to himself, stood firm as the rock of ages, and 
now only to aid in answering a villainous slander uttered in 
the Senate of the United States, seriously reflecting upon the 
political and personal integrity of himself, and also on that of 
nearly three-fourths of the Republican members of the Oregon 
Legislature of 1897, has he been willing that Mr. Corbett's let- 
ters should go on the witness stand. 

There are three ways in which a person may be misrepre- 
sented by another: It may be done through ignorance, care- 
lessness, or maliciously. Senator Simon is not an ignoramus, 
nor is he ignorant as to who were the real culprits who 
held up the Oregon Legislature, he being one of the party him- 

20 



self. The misrepresentation could not have been carelessly 
made, because Senator Simon is not a careless, but a very care- 
ful and deliberate man. Therefore, I am reluctantly forced to 
the conclusion that this misrepresentation is but the malicious 
echo of a falsehood, the malicious character of which is perhaps 
relieved and excused in part by the fact that it has been so 
studiously and persistently asserted by the men who did hold 
up the Legislature, ever since they engaged in that disreputable 
business, that they have really come to believe the falsehood to 
be true. They belong to that classs described* by Shakespeare: 

"Like one 

Who having, into truth by telling of it, 
Made such a sinner of his memory, 
To credit his own lie.' 

Senator Simon evidently disagrees with Lord Bacon, who, 
in his essay on truth, said: 

"No pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the 
vantage ground of truth." 

One thousand years before the birth of Christ, Solomon, the 
son of David, uttered this great truth: 

"A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speak- 
eth lies shall perish." Proverbs xix, v. And "The lip of truth 
shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a 
moment." Id. xii, xix. 

These moral apothegms are as true today as they were 3000 
years ago, and are applicable, moreover, to those in every con- 
dition and calling in life, from the highest to the lowest. 

But notwithstanding all these facts, and all the bolting and 
revolutionary acts upon the part of Mr. Simon in holding up 
the legislature, in order to secure my defeat as the Republican 
nominee for United States Senator, when, at the special session 
of the new legislature in October, 1898, Mr. Simon was elected 
as my successor, I then being in Washington, D. C, in at- 
tendance upon the United States Supreme Court, and having in 
mind the saying of a wise man, "It is an honor for a man who 

21 



ceases from strife, but every fool will be meddling," and, hav- 
ing in mind furthermore the fact that the best interests of 
our state required that our Senators and Representatives in Con- 
gress, whatever may have been their previous record as bolters 
and disorganizers, should have the cordial support of all our citi- 
zens, sent him a telegram, of which the following is a copy: 

"Washington, D. C, October ioth, 1898. 

"Hon. Joseph Simon, 

"U. S. Senator-Elect, Salem, Oregon. 

"I tender you, as my successor, my personal congratulations, 
and wish you an honorable and successful career. 

"JOHN H. MITCHELL." 

For this extended courtesy I was at the time severely 
criticised — and I now realize very justly — by very many of my 
best friends and supporters. It is very evident, as developed by 
recent occurrences, that I was wholly mistaken in supposing 
that my distinguished succesor had the ability to appreciate a 
courtesy. 

Experience teaches me that it is perhaps better hereafter to 
act upon the suggestions contained in the following lines, written 
by Aaron Hill more than one hundred and fifty years ago : 

"Tender handed shake a nettle 
And it stings you for your pains, 
Grasp it like a man of mettle 
And it soft as silk remains, 
'Tis the same with common natures, 
Use them kindly they rebel, 
But he rough as nutmeg graters 
And the rogues obey you well." 

If Senator Simon and Senator Corbett and their associates — 
the Populists in the legislature of 1897 — were of the opinion that 
my election to the Senate, for any reason, would have been a 
menace to the best interests of the State and Nation, and further- 
more, that they were, therefore, for such reason, as patriots and 
conservators of the public weal, justified as a minority in resist- 

22 



ing the expressed will of a three-fourths majority of the Repub- 
lican membership in the legislature, and of a clear majority of the 
whole membership of the legislature of all parties, then 
why not have the honesty and manhood to say so. Why not, if 
you were honest in your opposition to the Republican nominee — 
if such opposition or the reasons assigned for it were something 
more than mere subterfuges and pretences — then why not be 
honest and tell the truth and not skulk and seek to hide in the 
shadow of a deliberate falsehood? Why not say: Yes, we held 
up the legislature. Yes, we prevented an organization, and we 
did it solely to defeat Mitchell for the Senate. Do this and you 
will be credited with some degree of respect for political and 
moral honesty. Do this and we will then discuss with you the 
question whether, notwithstanding all your reasons assigned for 
your opposition, and granting them for the time being to be abso- 
lutely well founded, whether, after all, in holding up the legisla- 
ture as you did, you did not — that is, those of you who were 
members of that legislature — array yourselves in direct antagon- 
ism to your oaths of office and enact in every essential particular 
the role of the Anarchist. 

Senator Simon, posing as an immaculate party man, and 
with his usual lack of sense of the proprieties, proceeding further, 
entertains the Senate in his maiden effort with expressions of his 
personal spleen and vindictiveness. He says: 

"Mr. Mitchell has always had more or less connection and 
political fellowship with those who opposed the policy of the 
Republican party." 

This charge, it may be confidently submitted, comes with 
distinctively bad grace when it is made by one whose record is 
literally pitted with acts of treachery to the Republican organiza- 
tion and Republican policies, and by opposition to regular Re- 
publican nominees, as is that of Senator Simon, as will be clearly 
shown later on in this communication. 

The course of Senator Simon in organizing the bolt 
against the Republican nominee for United States Senator in the 

23 



legislature of 1897, was but consistent with his record of treach- 
ery to the Republican organization in this state prior to that 
time. 

In 1886 Senator Simon was chairman of the Republican 
State Central Committee of Oregon. At the Republican State 
Convention of that year, Judge Waldo was made the regular 
nominee of the Republican party for Supreme Judge, and Hon. 
R. S. Strahan was the nominee of the Democratic party for the 
same position. Yet, Joseph Simon used all his power as chair- 
man of the Republican State Central Committee, to defeat 
Waldo, the Republican nominee, and elect Strahan, the Demo- 
cratic nominee. This is a fact universally known in Oregon. In 
support of this statement I need only quote from the Oregonian. 

Hon. J. L. Reeder a reputable Republican citizen, resident 
of Sauvie's Island, Multnomah County, Oregon, had made an 
affidavit in which he stated Simon gave him a package of tickets 
for use in his (Reeder's) precinct, telling him they were the reg- 
ular Republican tickets, and which he found, on opening, were 
the regular Republican tickets with Waldo's name as Supreme 
Judge erased and Strahan's put in. 

The Oregonian, in its issue of June 7th, 1886, in comment- 
ing on this affidavit, said: 

"It is well known that the bosses of the Republican ring, 
the chief engineers of the machine, had set their hearts on defeat- 
ing the nomination of Judge Waldo for re-election. This 
brought about a struggle in the convention between the ring 
managers and delegates from many parts of the state, and Waldo 
was renominated in spite of the ring. And now the fact is de- 
veloped that Simon, though chairman of the Republican State 
Central Committee, is devoting himself specially to an effort to 
beat him. It is a new thing for the chairman of the State Central 
Committee to use the advantage which that position gives him to 
defeat part of the ticket which he, by acceptance of the trust, is 
bound, or should be bound, to support in its entirety." 

Again, it is a notorious fact that Senator Simon, in 1890, 
openly opposed the election of Hon. D. P. Thompson, the Re- 

24 



publican nominee for Governor, and as openly supported Sylves- 
ter Pennoyer, the Democratic nominee for that place. The elec- 
tion of Judge Strahan, the Democratic nominee, to the supreme 
bench in 1886, over Judge Waldo, the Republican nominee, was 
largely due to the betrayal of his political trust by Joseph Simon, 
as chairman of the Republican State Central Committee, and 
his active efforts in his behalf, while the election of Pennoyer as 
Governor in 1890 was largely due to the open advocacy of Mr. 
Simon and those of his Republican friends whom he could in- 
fluence and control. 

The degree and character of the activity brought into requi- 
sition by Mr. Simon, then State Senator, and also chairman of 
the Republican State Central Committee, in his efforts to defeat 
Waldo and elect Strahan at the June election of 1886 in the City 
of Portland, may be judged of from the following comments of 
the Daily Oregonian, published at the time. In its issue of date 
June 8th, 1886, the Daily Oregonian said: 

"At the polls on the corner of Fourth and A streets, there 
was a lively scene yesterday. Several men were arrested in that 
locality for buying votes, and great excitement ensued. Ten 
bribers were pro??iptly bailed by Hon. Joseph Simon. A little 
later E. J. Jeffries and others having noticed from the opposite 
side of the street what was going on in an old building adjoining 
the place where the polls were kept, crossed over and dislodged 
the occupants. Hon. Joseph Simon was present in the building and 
see?ned to have charge of the proceedings ." 

While in its issue of the next day, June(8th, 1886, the follow- 
ing appeared : 

"There was most scoundrelly work done at polling place No. 
3, North Portland. The returns give evidence that nearly one- 
half of the vote cast at that place was bought. It was here that Joe 
Simon and others were driven out of a rear room near the polls, where 
work was going on, and it was here that the men were arrested whotn 
Joe Simon so promptly bailed." 

25 



Further comment on these record facts as to Mr. Simon's 
party fealty and political and moral integrity would seem to be 
unnecessary. 

Since the adjournment of the legislature, February 25th, 
1897, or more than three years ago, I have studiously avoided 
intruding myself into the politics of this state, even in the slight- 
est degree. Prior to the convening of the special session in Oc- 
tober, 1898, on my name being mentioned in certain papers in 
connection with the approaching senatorial election, I wrote and 
published a letter stating that under no circumstances would I 
be a candidate, and in that letter I said: 

"Since the adjournment of the Legislature in March, 1897, 
although continually subjected to gross misrepresentation and 
abuse by vindictive journalists and subsidized penny-a-liners, I 
have held my peace. I have not responded, either by speech, 
letter or interview, trusting and believing by quietly withdraw- 
ing myself from politics as a candidate for the Senate or any 
other office, that the lapse of time would ultimately develop a 
better general knowledge of the real facts connected with the 
legislative hold-up, and at the same time awaken to some degree 
a sense of justice in the minds of even malignant partisan op- 
ponents. The Republican party and the state of Oregon have 
honored me as they have never honored any other of its citizens. 
For three full terms they have given me a seat in the Senate of 
the United States, while on two other occasions I have been the 
choice as expressed in party caucus as the candidate of the party 
for United States Senator. I have, therefore, no political claims 
either upon the party or the state, and do not intend further to 
make any. I am frank to confess I was earnestly desirous of re- 
election at the close of my last term, as my position on commit- 
tees in the Senate was second to none in that body either in dig- 
nity, influence or power, a position that no new Senator, what- 
ever may be his ability and tact, can, under the rules and prac- 
tices of the Senate, hope to attain short of a service of at least 
twelve years, and I was therefore in a position to have done much 
for the state and coast. But, as the matter stands today, having 

26 



firmly determined many months since I would not be a candidate 
for re-election, I have but one ambition, and that is that I may 
re-establish myself in my profession in this city and state, 
and have and retain the respect and confidence of the people, ir- 
respective of party, of the state that has thus so highly honored 
me. Whatever can be said to the contrary, I have the gratifica- 
tion of knowing that during the eighteen years of my service in 
the Senate, I have endeavored to labor faithfully and conscienti- 
ously for what I believed to be the best interests of the state, the 
coast and the nation, and never during all that period did I cast 
a vote on any question, made a party issue in the Senate, except 
with the Republican party, nor did I ever cast a vote during that 
period on any question that was contrary to the platform of the 
Republican party of the state upon which the legislature which 
elected me was elected." 

Since writing that letter I have been quietly pursuing my 
profession and taking no part in politics, and but for this uncalled- 
for, absolutely untruthful and wholly unsupported attack on 
me, and also on three-fourths of the Republican members of the 
legislature of 1897, who were my friends and supporters, I should 
have said nothing now. 

I am not a candidate for any office, nor do I expect to be. 
I do expect, however, to live in the state of Oregon the balance 
of my days, and I shall, on the part of myself, and in defense of 
my friends and supporters in the senatorial contest of 1897, re- 
sent from this time on, on all proper occasions, the infamous 
fabrication that either I or any of my supporters, were responsi- 
ble, in any manner whatever, either directly or indirectly, for 
holding up the Oregon legislature of 1897. 

And in conclusion, I make the following direct, positive and 
unqualified charge — and I defy successful contradiction from 
any source whatever — that the demoralization of the Oregon 
legislature of 1897, the effectual clogging of the wheels of legisla- 
tion of that legislature, the prevention of the enactment of anv 
laws, the failure to pass any appropriation bills, thus mulcting 

27 



• IN-MODSON CO., PORTLAND. ORS 



i 



the state in many thousand dollars of interest and increased ex- 
penses, the defeat of the election of any Senator, thus leaving 
our state with only one representative in the United States Sen- 
ate for nearly two years, and, what is worse than all these, bring- 
ing the state of Oregon into disrepute both at home and abroad, 
are all chargeable directly to a corrupt combination entered into 
between a small minority of the ' Republican members of that 
legislature with all of the Populists and two or three Democratic 
members, which combination was organized and held together 
throughout the session by the use of an unlimited amount of 
money, and other equally disreputable means and practices, and 
the leading organizers and supporters of which combination were 
Joseph Simon, H. W. Corbett and Jonathan Bourne, Jr. 

JOHN H. MITCHELL. 



28 



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